Generation Gap
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: Sequel to 'The Children's Crusade' and 'Initiation'. Every generation makes its own history. The New X-Men would like to do that but they're too busy surviving.
1. The DIY Ethic

Generation Gap

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I promised you guys a sequel and now I'm delivering it. R/R.

The sights and sounds of gambling casinos have become part of the fabric of Las Vegas. People come for the colorful lights, the diverse atmosphere, and the ability to participate in things that are illegal in the rest of the country. Las Vegas is a world unto itself, almost a country within a country.

Julian Keller knew how to survive in a city like Las Vegas. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, perhaps the only city in the United States that encouraged a lifestyle as fast as that found in Vegas. Hellion knew how to play the game, how to take calculated risks in order to beat the odds. These skills were ones he'd picked up from his father and his brother, businessmen both of them even though their wealth came from dubious sources. Business was all about risks, all about staying one step ahead of the competition. These days, when Julian felt like some unseen force was breathing down his neck it wasn't paranoia.

"Red twenty-one," stated Hellion as he placed his chip on the corresponding compartment of the roulette wheel."

"All bets down," announced the dealer as he spun the wheel and then dropped the ball onto it. Hellion's eyes never left the ball even as it bounced across the wheel, skipping from one number to the next with a capriciousness that knew no favorites or masters. The wheel slowly began to stop spinning but Hellion's eyes remained on the ball. It was almost where he wanted it. All it took was a small push to move it one slot over. If anyone had paid attention to Hellion's eyes, they would've seen a brief flash of green before the ball sank into his spot.

"Red twenty-one it is," stated the dealer as he gestured to the pile of chips before taking Hellion's chip and flicking it in the boy's direction, "Care to double your bet, sir?"

"Not tonight," assured Hellion as he began shoveling the chips into a bucket, "I have some other rounds to make." Hellion took his bucket of chips and moved away from the roulette table towards the slot machines. Picking Noriko Ashida out of a crowd wasn't very difficult. Hellion strolled over to Surge as she pulled the lever on one of the machines, her hand resting against the device. The machine showed one seven, two sevens, and then three sevens as Surge sent a tiny jolt of electricity into the device in order to help it produce a more favorable result.

"We need to pack it in for the night," explained Hellion.

"One more pull?" asked Surge as she stuffed her winnings in a bucket exactly like Hellion's, "Promise it'll be quick."

"One more and then you're done," ordered Hellion, "We can't make this look obvious so go for a lower payout this time. Don't spend so much money on booze tonight."

"We're in Vegas," reminded Surge, "You're really going to tell me we can't at least live it up a little?"

"We're not kids on spring break," retorted Hellion as he moved away from her, "We're fugitives on the run. One more pull. I'll be watching you."

"Fine," replied Surge as she turned back to the machine, "I assume we'll be packing up in the morning."

"Safe bet," replied Hellion as he crossed his arms over his chest and watched her.

XXXXX

"You think they're cheating again?" Pixie's wings twitched involuntarily as she asked the question, staring out of the window at the colorful world of Las Vegas from their rather opulent room. It wasn't the penthouse suite but it was enough to make her feel out of place.

"I am afraid so," admitted Dust with a sigh, "I do not condone it but our situation cannot afford stability at this point."

"Lesser of two evils," said Anole, "We'll probably pack up tomorrow so we should enjoy this place while it lasts. Something tells me the next place we stay in won't be nearly as nice."

"This situation sucks," stated Pixie as she turned and looked at her teammates, "What the hell happened to us?"

"We had to make it on our own," replied Mercury, "I don't think any of us imagined it would turn out like this."

"Where are the adults?" asked Pixie, "They were supposed to take care of us. I mean good Lord we're barely even legal adults. Why haven't they come back and found us again?"

"_Quis custodiet ipsos custodes_," quoted Anole.

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Rockslide.

"It's Latin," replied Anole, "Who watches the watchmen? I got it from a comic book."

"Alright, seriously, you suck at this," stated Rockslide as he moved over to Pixie and roughly put his arms around your shoulder, "Look, Meg, this is probably our last night here and you definitely need a pick-me-up. I say we get a lot of booze and then we get some 'entertainment'. Might as well make a real going-away party out of it."

"I really don't think I like where this is going," squeaked Pixie as she tried to get a little space between her and Santo before he accidentally crushed her.

"Work with me," ordered Rockslide, "We booze it up, get some lovely ladies in here for me and Julian as well as some handsome gentlemen in here for you and the girls . . . and Vic. C'mon, I totally bet we can find a stripper who would dress up like Cyclops for you if you paid him enough."

"You are an idiot," stated Mercury, "First of all, I think only about half of us are actually physically capable of drinking anything."

"That's cool, Nori will drink the extra," assured Rockslide, "You should've seen her in here last night. She drinks like a freakin' fish."

"It was epic," confirmed Anole, "I don't care about watching you kids get drunk but I'm pretty sure normal strippers aren't going to go for at least half of us."

"More chicks for me then," said Rockslide.

"Pretty sure you were in that half," reminded Mercury.

"No strippers," stated Pixie, "We don't need to give people more reasons to pay attention to us."

"Bet'cha Nori will go for strippers," predicted Rockslide, "Bet'cha she won't mind if they're chicks either. I bet she kinda . . ." A lightning bolt crackled across the room and struck Santo. The bolt didn't hurt Rockslide in the slightest but it stopped him from finishing his sentence.

"No strippers," stated Surge as she and Hellion came into the room, "Trust me, you really shouldn't finish that sentence either."

"Packing in the morning?" asked Anole as he looked at Hellion. Hellion simply nodded his head in response. All seven mutants were silent for a moment as they once again let their fugitive status sink into their minds.

"Do you know how to get in touch with Miss Frost?" asked Pixie quietly.

"No, I don't," replied Hellion sadly as he shook his head, "She and the others wrote us off months ago, Meg. I know it sucks and I know that you want things to go back to the way they were but they can't."

"Things would've been fine if you hadn't started this again," stated Pixie as she headed for the door, "If anybody needs me, I'm going to try to sleep but I'll probably be thinking about all the things I used to have that I miss."

"I hear they made a cure for that," called out Rockslide, "Strippers, Meg. Strippers."

"You really have no manners," stated Anole as Surge headed out the door after Pixie.

"She's right, you know," said Mercury as she looked at Hellion, "Do you ever think we made a mistake by doing this?"

"Every day since we left Seattle," replied Hellion, "I really screwed us, guys. I wouldn't blame you if you felt the same way."

"You did what you believed was best for us just as you have always done," assured Dust, "The world is becoming a difficult place it seems."

"It doesn't mean we have to cheat to get ahead," replied Mercury as she looked at Hellion.

"We'll have this argument after I get some sleep," assured Hellion as he rubbed his eyes, "We can't afford to be moral at this point, Cess. It's just not in the cards."

XXXXX

"I can zap Santo again if you want me to," said Surge as she leaned against the doorframe and watched Pixie bury her face into her pillow, "Trust me, it's more cathartic than you think."

"I don't want to talk right now," said Pixie as she glared at Surge, "I just . . ."

"I know," interrupted Surge with a nod, "None of us blame you, Megan. You're way too young for this. Hell, all of us are too young for this but we chose this and now we're stuck with it."

"We could choose again," reminded Pixie as she wiped a stray tear from her eye, "We could find Miss Frost or Mr. Summers and get them to help us."

"They don't give a damn about us," stated Surge as she took a seat next to Pixie on the bed, "If they did then they would've come for us by now."

"You sound like Julian," said Pixie bitterly, "You know the reason why two sides keep fighting each other forever? It's because neither of them want to admit they were wrong and try to make peace."

"We couldn't find them if we tried," reminded Surge, "They're big-time X-Men and we're just . . ."

"We're just kids," finished Pixie glumly, "I never wanted this to happen, Nori."

"Nobody did," assured Surge as she put her arm around Pixie's shoulders, "You can't keep thinking about that though, Meg. I've been in this situation so many times and I've learned that you can't keep waiting for things to go back to normal when you know in your heart they never will."

"I think we should get some sleep," said Pixie with a sigh, "Shame we have to leave this place. I was starting to like it."

"Yeah, me too," admitted Surge with a sad smile, "Trust him, Meg. Julian may be an ass but he's done his best to take care of everyone."

"He has a funny way of doing it," replied Pixie.

"Hey, if you can't trust him then trust me," said Surge, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to any of us, Meg, not after it took me forever to fix things between me and everyone else. We'll get through this just like we always do."

XXXXX

"I got yer note." Danielle Moonstar hadn't seen Sam Guthrie in a long time. Once she lost her mutant powers, Dani found herself on the outside looking in where all matters of the X were concerned. At this point with the X-Men scattered to the four corners of the globe, Dani didn't know if her excommunication was a blessing or a curse.

"Took me forever to find you," said Dani as she hugged her former classmate, "You could just get an email address like everyone else."

"Ya got tha wrong Guthrie fer that," assured Cannonball, "Paige is tha one who's good with computers. What're we doin' here, Dani?" Sam Guthrie looked past his friend to the steps of the cathedral they were currently standing in front of. He doubted that Dani had suddenly become a Christian, much less a Catholic at that.

"I tried to find the others," replied Dani as she escorted Sam around to the back of the building, "It didn't go very well."

"'Ello, Sam," said a familiar voice as Wolfsbane stood at the bottom of the steps that led to the church's basement in her half-wolf form, "It's been a while."

"Shoulda guessed," said Cannonball with a smile, "How've you been, Rahne? I saw ya awhile back but yer right, it's been too long."

"I get by," replied Wolfsbane as she slunk up the stairs, "Dani came ta me and said she had a problem that involved tha kids." Sam and Dani both noticed the way Rahne moved, skittish and nervous but still preferring to remain inhuman. Neither of them said anything, both waiting for the Scottish girl to bring up the subject. Her short time with the new incarnation of X-Force had left Rahne emotionally scarred and she had made her home in the cathedral's basement in order to cleanse her soul. Her subconscious decision to stay in half-wolf form as much as possible served as a constant reminder of her penance.

"Rahney, can you . . .?" asked Dani.

"Sorry," apologized Rahne as she reverted back to her human form with more effort than it normally took, "What do ye need, Dani?"

"I need your help to find the kids," stated Dani as she looked at her two friends, "They've gone off the grid."

"Yer worried someone might hurt 'em?" asked Cannonball, "From what I saw, those kids can handle themselves just fine."

"Josh and Alani are at Camp Hammond and Gyrich won't let them go until I deliver those kids to him," explained Dani.

"Ye can't expect us ta help ye hunt them down," said Rahne.

"I don't," assured Dani, "If we can find them and tell them what's going on then maybe they'll help me. Gyrich is holding Josh hostage and it's going to take more muscle than just me to get him and Alani out."

"Ya don't hafta tell us 'bout protectin' yer family," assured Sam with a nod, "I'm with ya, Dani."

"Always," agreed Rahne, "Ye sure ye want to come along on this, Dani. Ye don't have yuir powers anymore."

"I can still work a bow," stated Dani, "I don't need mutant powers for that."

XXXXX

"I'm sorry about last night," apologized Pixie as she looked at Hellion, "It's not like you twisted our arms to get back into this and you couldn't have known how it would turn out."

"It's okay," assured Hellion as he mussed the younger girl's hair, "You know me; I've got enough pride to withstand a dose of the truth every now and then." Pixie swatted his hand away and grinned as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"I admire you," admitted Pixie as she looked at Hellion, "You're always able to keep this team from coming apart no matter what happens. I wish I was that strong."

"You are," assured Hellion as he slung his bag over his shoulder, "You okay for this jump, Meg? We can try it the old-fashioned way if it's too much for you."

"Nah, I got it," replied Pixie as the two of them headed towards the cluster of New X-Men, "We need to figure out where to go though or at least in what direction."

"Any chance you could get us out of the country?" asked Surge as Hellion and Pixie joined the others, "I doubt the Initiative guys would cross a border to get to us. Plus, I bet I can find some people back home who would put up with us."

"I don't think I'm comfortable with that," explained Pixie nervously, "I don't really know how far I can jump us all. I don't wanna land us in the middle of an ocean."

"So we got Canada and Mexico as options," said Rockslide, "Some choice there."

"I hear those runaways out in L.A. are back on the scene," offered Anole.

"Home doesn't sound so bad," admitted Hellion, "Nori has a good point though. If we can get across a border then we can at least settle down somewhere long enough to get things back to normal. Any of you guys know Spanish?"

"I still have a few problems with English," reminded Dust.

"I took French for my foreign language," said Anole.

"I knew a little bit at one time," replied Mercury.

"I know the word 'tequila'," offered Rockslide.

"No surprise there," commented Surge, "Looks like we're going to Canada."

"Head as far northeast as you can go," ordered Hellion as he looked at Pixie, "Beam us up, Meg. Warp factor five."

XXXXX

"You don't look so good." Alani Ryan looked at her boyfriend, concern replacing her usual laid-back expression. Josh Foley gave her a perplexed look as if he didn't quite understand what she was talking about.

"They've been doing a lot of tests," replied Elixir dismissively, "Mr. Gyrich thinks I could be a big help to the Initiative."

"Josh, I'm not so sure about this place," confessed Alani as she touched his cheek, "I don't think coming here was the right idea."

"We had to do something," reminded Elixir as he placed his hand on hers, "We're safe here, Alani. I'll tell Gyrich to stop testing me so hard."

"It's not that," replied Alani, "I had to fight them, Josh. I had to fight my friends because the people in this place think they're criminals and I'm the one who turned them in. I almost got them killed and the people here don't care. They don't care about me or you, Josh. We're just soldiers to them."

"Things weren't any different at the mansion," reminded Elixir.

"Yes they were," corrected Alani, "The adults cared about us, Josh."

"Funny way of showing it," said Elixir bitterly as he turned away from his girlfriend and noticed two men in military uniforms cross the compound of Camp Hammond and head towards them.

"Mr. Foley, you're needed again," said one of the men. Elixir nodded and kissed Alani on the cheek before leaving her to follow the men. Alani waited a few seconds before she began to follow the men. She wasn't as proficient with her phasing powers as Kitty Pryde but Alani Ryan still knew some tricks. She followed Josh and his military escort through a winding maze of corridors, passing through the walls to reach places she shouldn't be able to reach.

Alani had never seen this part of Camp Hammond before and she had a bad feeling that few people ever had. She watched Josh pass through what she hoped was the final barrier and took another deep breath as she tried to phase through the door. She instantly felt her body explode with pain and quickly kicked herself backwards to get out of the door. Alani glared at the door before she tried to phase her hand through it. The pain forced her away. She knew it was silly to think that they wouldn't have a countermeasure for people with her specific ability. She was surprised they had let her get this far.

"What do they do to you in there?" asked Alani quietly as she pressed her solid hand against the door before forlornly turning away and attempting to figure out how she could get back to a safe area.

"Nothing nice," hissed a voice as it answered Alani's question. Alani knew that voice and it stopped her cold in her tracks. She turned her eyes to the door on her left, a solid slab of metal save for a small slit for the eyes.

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" asked Alani icily, "I'm glad I didn't kill you, Trent. This is probably a better punishment."

"Oh trust me," retorted Serotonin, "I'm not getting it half as bad as your boyfriend."

"You know what they do to him in there?" asked Alani skeptically.

"Come talk to me, Alani," suggested Serotonin, "I don't get many visitors down here."


	2. Justice Like Lightning

Generation Gap (Part Two)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

"Ya know," said Cannonball as he looked to Dani, "I think this might be tha first time I've ever been on a real plane."

"Ye haven't changed, Sam," said Wolfsbane from across the aisle as she gave him a sad smile, "God bless ye fer that."

"Can't blame you," admitted Dani, "If I had the power to fly, I'd never take another plane in my life."

"I woulda fought for ya, Dani," said Cannonball, "Ya loved those kids and ya deserved a place at Xavier's, powers or no powers."

"Thank you, Sam," replied Dani, "I suppose it's hard to admit it but times have changed since we were students. These kids have been through so much and I'm worried what it's done to them."

"Ye forget what we dealt with," reminded Wolfsbane, "I remember Asgard, Limbo, thinkin' the X-Men were dead, Magneto fer a teacher."

"Seein' what tha Marauders did to tha Morlocks," added Cannonball, "It's a miracle we turned out as well as we did."

"We only lost Doug and Illyana," reminded Dani, "These kids lost forty-two of their classmates and then the adults seemingly abandoned them. Someone should've been looking out for them."

"Amen ta that," agreed Wolfsbane, "Sam, have ye spoken to yuir sister?"

"Paige's been scourin' tha net clean," assured Cannonball, "They were in Seattle, no secret there, and she thinks they hit Vegas but no guarantee they're still there."

"What I can't figure out is how they move around so fast," said Dani, "They can't be using regular transportation without causing a scene."

"Kids're always full o' surprises," assured Cannonball, "We'll touch down at yer ranch, Dani, and see if they've popped up on tha radar again. Rahne can track their scent if'n she gets close enough ta 'em."

"Wouldnae put too much stock in that, Sam," disagreed Wolfsbane, "Ye don't give these kids enough credit. They're smart enough ta cover their tracks."

XXXXX

"Where did the magical lotto land us this time?" asked Surge as soon as the team touched down. The New X-Men looked around and attempted to figure out where they were. Hellion spotted a newspaper box and went over to study the paper.

"Colorado it seems," replied Hellion after checking the newspaper, "If my geography's correct then we at least went northeast so that's good."

"I think I can only do a few states at a time," said Pixie, "Sorry I couldn't get us further."

"These states all look the same," assured Rockslide, "It's all flat and boring. We really need to get a better travel agent."

"We should discuss this later," suggested Mercury as she noticed they were in the middle of a rather busy street, "The looks these people are giving us aren't very friendly."

"Big deal," retorted Rockslide with a shrug, "What're they gonna do, call up their Initiative team? Everybody knows that program can't even make one good superhero team, not to mention fifty."

"Colorado," said Anole to himself, "Why do I get the feeling I've heard about their Initiative team before?"

"We'll figure it out later," assured Hellion, "Let's get out of the street and into a hotel for the night. We need to start jumping quicker until we make it to the border."

"Fine by me," assured Rockslide, "Maybe next time we'll land in a state with a real Initiative team. I wouldn't mind giving out one last ass-kicking before I leave this country."

"Santo, you really need to keep it down," advised Mercury as she noticed that the people in the near vicinity were beginning to take on the qualities of an angry mob.

"Or what, attack of the rednecks?" asked Rockslide with a smirk.

"Santo, this isn't the state to pull this crap in," explained Anole, "If I'm right then Colorado's Initiative team . . ." Anole couldn't finish his sentence as a sonic scream cut through the air and sent a good portion of the New X-Men to their knees in pain.

"The hell was that?" asked Hellion.

"That's what I was trying to tell you," explained Anole, "Colorado's Initiative team is the Thunderbolts!"

"Very nice of you to remember, skinny, scaly sack of meat," snarled Venom as he dropped to the ground while the rest of the Thunderbolts began to surround the New X-Men, "I'm very interested in seeing what you taste like."

"Open wide then, Spider-Man knockoff," suggested Rockslide as he shoulder-checked Venom in mid-air when the creature tried to pounce on Anole. Anole jumped backwards and clung to the wall of a building. He barely had time to catch his breath before Penance was on top of him, the masochist moving as fast as his former namesake of "Speedball". Anole and Penance traded blows before Victor cloaked himself, his chameleon-like abilities allowing him to blend into the side of the building. Penance hesitated in momentary confusion and the confusion was enough for Anole to kick the Thunderbolt member into the pavement.

"I've seen you on TV," admitted Hellion as he threw up a telekinetic shield to block the objects of solid sound that Songbird hurled at him, "You're a lot prettier in person."

"I've seen your work too," assured Songbird, "You're pretty good."

"Nothing pretty about it," corrected Hellion with a smirk, "I'm just good." Julian felt the shift in the wind that meant an attack coming from behind. He turned and ducked before Swordsman could stab him in the throat. Hellion turned to gain some distance and then lifted himself into the air with his powers. Mercury quickly moved to fill the gap in the fight that Hellion had created, her fingers turning into metallic claws as she grappled with Swordsman.

"Save yourself a maiming and come quietly," said Songbird as she flew towards Hellion. She hurled some sonic constructs in his way but he predictably blocked them with a telekinetic shield.

"Nothing with us is ever quiet," stated Hellion as he telekinetically ripped a fire hydrant from the pavement and threw it at Songbird, "Maybe if we had some better PR then we'd be in your shoes."

"Trust me, that's a place I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy," assured Songbird as she blocked the flying hunk of metal and dipped under Hellion, coming up behind him and letting a cord of sonic energy trail from her hand. The rope wrapped itself around Hellion, binding his arms to his sides. Hellion struggled as Songbird continued to tie him up with her sonic constructs.

"Quit screwing around with him," ordered Moonstone as she blasted Hellion, "We're not supposed to take it easy on these people." Hellion took the blast and his eyes fiercely glowed with energy. He created a telekinetic barrier around his body and expanded it, ripping away Songbird's constructs and freeing himself. A window of a nearby building suddenly shattered and the razor-sharp shards of glass flew towards the two women.

"I had things under control," assured Songbird as she erected a sonic shield to stop the attack, "If you would let me do things my way then these missions would go a lot smoother."

XXXXX

"C'mon then, let's hear it," said Rockslide as he slammed his fist into Venom's face, "You gonna eat my brains now or something?"

"You'd have to have one first," reminded Pixie as she fluttered in the air above him, "You want me to give him some dust?"

"Nah, I like it better this way," replied Rockslide as he hit Venom again, "It's not like this chump is giving me a rough time." Venom suddenly let out an inhuman roar of rage and grew to unparalleled size, leaving Rockslide the rare opportunity to actually look up at his foe.

"That can't be good," said Pixie nervously. Venom roared again and swatted Pixie out of the air like an insect. The symbiotic psychopath drove his hand downward, smashing Rockslide against the pavement.

"If I crack you open," snarled Venom as he picked up Rockslide and smashed him against the pavement again as if he was a child playing with a toy, "I wonder if there'll be something nice and juicy inside." A sentient cloud of dust suddenly streaked towards Venom and shoved itself down his throat. Venom coughed and staggered backwards, letting go of Rockslide and reverting to his original size as Dust attempted to choke him.

"You guys could've just looked the other way," reminded Surge as she blasted Radioactive Man with lightning, "We really weren't going to bother anyone."

"I truly wish we could," replied Radioactive Man as he took the electrical blast and then retaliated with a blast of microwave energy, "Hurting children isn't something I endorse." Surge was busy focusing on the opponent in front of her, so busy that she didn't see Moonstone behind her until the ever-opportunistic witch blasted Nori from behind.

"Make sure she's taken care of," ordered Moonstone as she turned her attention towards Mercury and Swordsman.

"She's a child," reminded Radioactive Man.

"She's a criminal," corrected Moonstone as she fired a photon blast at Mercury, "They showed up in our backyard, Chen. We're just doing our jobs." Mercury morphed around Swordsman and managed to throw him into the path of Moonstone's blast. Cessily was about to shoot towards Moonstone to take her out of the air when Penance grabbed her and activated his electrical powers, shocking Mercury into submission.

"We're getting killed out here," said Hellion as he and Anole regrouped and tried to form a plan for a counterattack. The air was filled with hacking sounds as Venom finally coughed up Dust.

"Let's try that again," suggested Venom with a sneer, "This time, I'll rip you apart and have you for dinner." Hellion threw up a telekinetic wall that Venom slammed into in an attempt to get to Dust.

"We need to retreat," stated Anole, "We can't keep pace with them and we're dropping like flies. At this point, they're just picking up scraps."

"We need our transportation system," agreed Hellion, "Where's Megan?" No one had time to answer Hellion's question as Venom sprang towards him. Hellion threw up a shield but Venom began to pound on it with all his might.

"I'm here," said Pixie as she weakly fluttered over to Hellion, "I can't get all of us unless we're close together." The impact of hitting the pavement earlier had almost knocked her senseless and she was still seeing stars.

"Everyone regroup!" shouted Hellion before Venom slammed through his telekinetic shield and grabbed him by the throat.

"I bit off a kid's arm once," said Venom, "This time I'll go for two." The sadistic symbiote never got the chance to make good on his threat. Pixie quickly blasted him in the face with her pixie dust. Venom was stunned for mere moments before he suddenly roared and swiped at the imaginary offenders Megan's dust had conjured up.

"Jump us!" ordered Hellion as he telekinetically grabbed any of his teammates who were fallen and yanked them towards the rest of the group, "Now, Megan!"

"I don't think I can do it this fast," explained Pixie, "It takes a lot of energy to . . ."

"That wasn't a request!" shouted Hellion before Venom managed to catch him. Pixie closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She had never tried teleporting two times in such a short amount of time but this was an extreme case. She didn't even know where to go. The only thing that Megan Gwynn really knew was that she just wanted everything to go back to the way it was before M-Day and Stryker and everything else that had happened. She just wanted to go back to when things were brighter and happier because she really missed her former squadmates and the other students they had lost. Pixie wanted to go home and she wanted everything to go back to the way it used to be.

"We lost them," said Songbird as she watched the New X-Men wink out of existence, "Considering the way these things usually go, I think we did pretty well." Venom roared again and continued to wage war against the illusions he was currently seeing.

"Shouldn't we try to calm him?" asked Radioactive Man.

"You wanna get near him when he's like this?" asked back Songbird with an arch of her eyebrow, "If those kids are like the other people we've had to smack around then they deserve as much of a head start as they can get. We'll contain Venom and make sure he doesn't accidentally eat some innocent bystander but we're not chasing after those kids. Let them keep running."

XXXXX

"So what happens to him in there?" asked Alani as she looked at the door of Serotonin's cell. She couldn't see anything when she looked through the opening save for Serotonin's eyes when he stood close to the door. Looking into his eyes made Alani incredibly nervous. There were things going on behind his eyes that sent chills down Alani's spine but at this moment he might was the only one who could give her the truth about what Gyrich and the rest of the Initiative was doing to her boyfriend behind closed doors.

"You really want to know?" asked Serotonin.

"No," replied Alani honestly, "I _need_ to know though. I love him and if they hurt him . . ."

"Yes, yes, quite endearing," said Serotonin snidely, "Gyrich's taken a great interest in Josh and his abilities. I believe, in addition to the usual grueling tests to gauge his limits, I overheard something about attempts to synthesize it."

"How would they do that?" asked Alani.

"Painfully I imagine," replied Serotonin, "They want to create a miracle drug from his DNA, Alani. If you want an analogy, you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs."

"How do I know you're not lying?" asked Alani hesitantly. She didn't have time to receive an answer to her question. The door that she couldn't walk through was beginning to open and she needed to get back to a safe area to avoid suspicion that she was here in the first place.

"Maybe we'll talk about that next time you visit," said Serotonin as Alani quickly ran back the way she had come, "You're a very pleasant conversationalist, Alani. We'll have to do this again some time soon." The heavy, metal door opened and Josh Foley walked out with the detail of soldiers who had escorted him into the room.

"See something you're envious of?" asked Gyrich as he watched Serotonin's eyes track Elixir's movements.

"I believe coveting your neighbor's possessions is a sin," reminded Serotonin, "I may not be able to hear the voice of God thanks to your miserable S.P.I.N technology but I still keep the Commandments, Gyrich."

"You have a funny way of doing that, Kline," said Gyrich with a smirk, "I believe you missed the one about murder."

"Murder in the service of God is acceptable," corrected Serotonin, "You're not a saint either. How long do you think you and your people can keep this up, Gyrich? Sooner or later, someone is going to start asking the wrong questions and looking into the wrong things. The wind is blowing your way right now but it doesn't mean it will stay that way forever."

"No one's crazy enough to attack this place," assured Gyrich as he walked past Serotonin's cell and exited the facility.

"The world is full of crazy people," stated Serotonin with a cruel grin that no one could see, "All it takes is the right set of circumstances."

XXXXX

"Ya should check yer email," said Cannonball as the trio of former New Mutants entered Dani Moonstar's home, "I gave Paige yer address in case she found anythin'."

"Yuir just refusin' ta go inta the twenty-first century, aren't ye?" chided Wolfsbane.

"I can fly 'cross tha country in a few minutes," reminded Cannonball, "Air mail, Rahne."

"Shush," ordered Wolfsbane as she shifted into her half-wolf form, "I smell somethin' . . . familiar." There was a loud thump a few feet away from the door and Wolfsbane quickly led the way back outside, sniffing the air as she tried to figure out where she had caught that particular scent before.

"What is it, Rahne?" asked Dani.

"Illyana," said Wolfsbane, "It smells like Illyana." Rahne stopped dead in her tracks as she reached the source of the scent. She barely had time to lift her arms before the battered and bruised body of Megan Gwynn collapsed into them.

"Looks like tha kids found us," said Cannonball as he looked past Wolfsbane to see the unconscious bodies of the rest of the New X-Men strewn over the ground as if a tornado had passed through the area.

"Megan?" asked Wolfsbane as she shifted back into her human form and gently cradled Pixie in her arms, "Megan, can ye hear me?" Pixie looked up at Wolfsbane's face and weakly smiled.

"Tell the others," whispered Pixie, "Tell them I tried my best." With that, Megan Gwynn slipped into unconsciousness in the arms of her former teacher. She didn't know exactly what was going on but she knew that older, more responsible people were with her and things would be okay from now on.


	3. X Machina

Generation Gap (Part Three)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Happy (belated) Fourth of July to all my American readers. R/R.

"What do they do to you in there?" asked Alani. Elixir slowly opened his eyes and looked into hers. His body still hurt from the tests but he knew he couldn't tell Alani the truth. Gyrich had told him that what went on in that room was top-secret and Elixir had promised long ago to stop breaking the trust others had in him.

"I'm really tired right now, Lani," said Elixir, "I can't talk about it right now."

"You never can," said Alani as her fingers entwined with his, her nails scraping against his golden skin, "Josh, I really don't like this."

"I don't either," confessed Elixir, "What happens in there isn't something you want to know, Lani." Alani's eyes moved to the black tar staining Elixir's skin and noticed that it seemed agitated about something.

"Do you have to kill people?" asked Alani.

"Not people, no," replied Elixir, "They want to see my limits, Lani. It's the same thing we had to do at Xavier's."

"Cyclops and the others never beat you up this bad," countered Alani.

"The more I know about my powers, the better I can use them," stated Elixir as he moved up to press his lips against hers, "You didn't use to worry this much." Alani sighed as she kissed him back. She couldn't just let this slide though. She had come to Camp Hammond thinking that it was the perfect place to be safe. She couldn't believe how naïve she was even after everything she had seen at Xavier's. Camp Hammond was just another place to turn kids into soldiers while promising them the illusion of safety.

XXXXX

Pixie's eyes slowly opened as she felt someone touch her head, the fingertips running gently through the pink and black strands of her hair. Her body ached all over as if she had just completed the Danger Room session from Hell. She reflexively moved away from the touch until she realized the fingers belonged to Rahne Sinclair.

"Megan?" asked Wolfsbane, "Ye awake?"

"Yeah," replied Pixie as she tried to sit up, "Is it really you, Miss Sinclair?"

"Ye can call me Rahne, Megan," reminded Wolfsbane with a smile, "It's me, lass. What happened to ye?"

"I don't . . . I don't even know where to start," admitted Pixie as she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, "I mean it's such a long list."

"Start with how ye got here," suggested Rahne.

"Well, we had to leave Seattle because the Initiative came for us," explained Pixie, "So I teleported us and we ended up in Vegas. We spent a couple days there watching Julian and Nori cheat the casino out of money then this morning we left. We landed in Colorado and we were attacked by these people. I think they're called the Thunderbolts or something. I had to teleport us again and the only thing I could think of was how much I want things to go back to the way they were. I think that's why I brought us here . . . because it's where you were."

"How are ye able ta teleport, lass?" asked Wolfsbane, "Before ye touched down, I smelt something, a scent I havenae come across in a long time. Ye smelled like Illyana Rasputin."

"We got trapped in Limbo," explained Pixie, her eyes starting to water at the memories of all the horror she had witnessed, "Magik . . . Illyana . . . whatever she was, she tried to make a Soulsword from my soul but she didn't finish the job. She took a piece of my soul and it got replaced with something else . . . something I don't understand and I don't think I ever want to understand."

"Oh, Megan," said Wolfsbane as Pixie buried her face in her former teacher's shoulder, "I had no idea things were that bad."

"Why did you have to leave us?" asked Pixie tearfully, "We looked up to you, Rahne. We trusted you." The trauma was starting to catch up to Megan and Rahne could see it quite clearly. So many nights, Rahne Sinclair had stayed awake and asked herself the same question. She still hadn't found a satisfactory answer.

"I never meant ta hurt ye," whispered Wolfsbane as she hugged her former pupil, "I never wanted any o' this fer ye or any o' tha others, Megan. I'm so sorry."

XXXXX

"How have you been holding up, Noriko?" asked Dani Moonstar as she and the co-leader of the New X-Men both turned away from the scene with Pixie and Wolfsbane to give the two girls some privacy.

"I get by," replied Surge as she stretched her arms and winced as she heard something pop, "Things were bad when I first got away from Xavier's but I think I'm okay now . . . as okay as any of us can be anyway."

"This isn't what any of us wanted for you, Nori," assured Dani.

"No, it probably isn't but it's what you trained us for," corrected Surge, "Not that you're holding all the blame. Miss Frost tried to stop us a month or two ago but we told her off. Not exactly our brightest moment."

"I think I would've enjoyed it," admitted Dani with a grin.

"I did get some personal satisfaction from it," assured Surge as she returned Dani's grin, "So now we're on our own and on the run. I guess we're lucky that you guys were in the area."

"We weren't here by accident," assured Dani, "I need your help with something, Nori."

"What's up?" asked Surge with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Josh and Alani are at Camp Hammond as you probably know," explained Dani, "Gyrich won't let Josh go until I bring you and the others to him. I was hoping you'd be up for changing his mind."

"Oh I think we can work something out," assured Surge as electricity wickedly crackled from her eyes, "I'll have to run it by our co-leader but I doubt he'll mind."

"I forget how young she is," said Dani as she looked back in Pixie's direction, "I forget how young all of you are."

"Were you any younger?" asked Surge in return, "The day we put on the X was the day we signed away our innocence. It was true for you and it's true for us."

"That doesn't mean it was a good idea," reminded Dani as she and Surge walked through the foyer and stepped through the front door. The noise of Cannonball's blasting echoed through the air.

"Boys never get tired of fighting it seems," said Surge as she watched Hellion and Cannonball engage in a friendly dogfight, the two of them zipping through the air like crazed fireflies as they traded blows.

"I got five bucks on Julian," said Rockslide as the two girls joined the rest of the New X-Men, "You want in on this?"

"Pass," replied Surge as she shook her head, "Miss Moonstar needs our help. You looking for a fight, Santo?"

"Best thing 'bout wearin' an X is that I never hafta look," replied Rockslide with a smirk, "Please tell me we get to take another shot at the Initiative."

"Wish granted," assured Surge, "Tell those two up there to quit horsing around. We've got some work to do."

XXXXX

"I heard ya told Miss Frost 'xactly where ta get off at," said Cannonball as he roared towards Hellion. Julian could barely hear Sam's voice over the noise of his powers. He put a telekinetic wall between himself and Cannonball, letting the older mutant bounce off of it. Cannonball hit the wall, changing directions like a swimmer would when hitting the wall of a pool. He zipped down and then around Hellion, coming up behind the New X-Man with the quickness of a hummingbird.

"Something like that," assured Hellion as he twisted sideways to avoid Cannonball's next charge, "You gonna give me a lecture on being too impulsive?"

"Ain't been too long since I did somethin' like that," assured Cannonball as he righted himself and hovered in front of Hellion, "Me an' tha others, we started gettin' a different view on things. Cable came along and we decided tha mansion wasn't tha place fer us anymore. We wanted ta try a new way o' doin' business."

"Not exactly the same," corrected Hellion as he blocked another of Cannonball's charges, "You chose to take yourself out of the school. We just got kicked out."

"Everybody's gotta grow up some time, kid," assured Cannonball, "Ya stood up ta Emma same way I stood up ta Xavier. At some point, all kids gotta decide whether or not they wanna be their parents fer tha rest o' their lives."

"You were the leader of the New Mutants, weren't you?" asked Hellion.

"Sometimes," replied Cannonball, "Dani did most o' tha work. I just got tha glory."

"What do you do when you feel like you made the wrong decision for the team but you can't take it back?" asked Hellion.

"Ya just hope that ya get tha chance ta choose again so ya can make tha right choice," replied Cannonball with a shrug, "Yer friends look up ta ya, Julian. Maybe sometimes they shouldn't so much but yer a good kid. Maybe ya did steer 'em wrong but they're still alive and yer still together. At tha end o' tha day, that's what's important."

"So what exactly did you tell Xavier?" asked Hellion as he saw Surge wave at them to come down.

"Lordy, I don't remember," said Cannonball with a sigh, "Basic jist o' it was that we were old 'nuff tha drive tha car ourselves and we were headin' down tha right road even if it was a diff'rent one than what he wanted."

"I went with the whole 'taking your ball and going home' thing," explained Hellion.

"Nice," admitted Cannonball with a grin, "Hafta remember that one some time."

XXXXX

Even though Serotonin was currently powerless, it didn't mean he was helpless. He knew that Alani would come to him again. All it took was the first meeting for him to place the seed of doubt in her mind. It wasn't as if he had lied to her. From what he could gather, the things that the Initiative did to Josh Foley in that room were cruel and inhuman. Serotonin could guarantee with absolute certainty that those experiments would stop if Alani and Elixir helped him escape his current predicament. However, he couldn't guarantee that what happened next would be better.

"I assume you tried to phase through the door," said Serotonin as he heard the click of a keycard in the lock of his cell. The door slid open and Alani Ryan entered the cell, quietly placing the keycard back into her pocket.

"It hurt," replied Alani, "I did sneak into Gyrich's room and get his keycard though. It's night right now so there's less security. Come on."

"Where would you have me go?" asked Serotonin as he followed Alani out of the cell.

"Josh needs a little more persuasion," explained Alani, "He thinks all of this is for the greater good. I figure if you and I can get some proof that it's not then maybe he'll help me escape."

"And what about me?" asked Serotonin, "I'm currently powerless."

"Let's hope it stays that way," said Alani, "You're free to do whatever you want but I'm not helping you get your powers back."

"Fair enough," said Serotonin as he watched Alani use the keycard to unlock the door to the testing room, "I suppose I can't really expect you to trust me." Both of the young mutants entered the room and looked around at the mysterious mechanical equipment. Alani didn't know what she was looking for exactly but she knew that they had to keep records somewhere of what Elixir did while he was in this room.

"None of this looks very friendly," said Alani as she looked at the machinery in the room.

"There're a few offices that shoot off of this room," stated Serotonin as he maneuvered his way to the far side of the room and studied the door, "You should use the keycard first and save your powers as a last resort."

"You seem to know a lot about this place," said Alani skeptically.

"They kept me here for a while," replied Serotonin as Alani opened the door with the keycard, "Before they put me in my cell, they kept me strapped to a gurney in this room. That's when the shot me full of their S.P.I.N. tech and took away my powers." Alani moved into the room and quickly began to rifle through the drawers in the desk. She knew she shouldn't help Serotonin but she figured as long as he was powerless he didn't have the ability to hurt anyone.

"I know why you're helping me," said Alani as she pulled out another drawer.

"Do tell," prodded Serotonin.

"You think Josh can use his powers to get their tech out of your system," explained Alani as she looked at Serotonin, "I'm not going to let you get anywhere near him, Trent. You're going to be normal for the rest of your life."

"Normal is a matter of perception," retorted Serotonin. Alani knew he had something up his sleeve but she was busy sorting through the files in the file cabinet. She began putting some of the folders in a stack on the desk. The Initiative was interested in Josh but they never told him exactly what about him they were interested in. The files told Alani that the government wanted Elixir for the two very different sides of his power. If the Initiative could isolate the chemical compound that let Josh heal and hurt people then they could synthesize it and use it to create the ultimate cure-all, a panacea that would fix any wound and purge any disease. However, that wasn't the only project in the works. If they could synthesize Elixir's abilities, the Initiative could also create the deadliest biological weapon on the face of the planet, a lethal virus that could kill any living thing in a matter of seconds no matter how advanced its immune system was.

"He's a lab rat," whispered Alani as she kept looking through the files, "They just keep taking DNA sample after DNA sample, reading after reading. They've had him kill bacteria cultures, plants, even small animals. They've even tried to have him hurt himself and then heal himself. I didn't even know if that was possible."

"It appears it is," said Serotonin as he looked over Alani's shoulder and read the files in her hands, "Gyrich has put a lot of time and money into your boyfriend. I almost feel jealous."

"I have to show this stuff to him," said Alani as she gathered up as many of the files as she could, "He has a right to know exactly what they're using him for."

"This is a bit too big for your hands, Alani," admitted Serotonin as he grabbed a paperweight from the desk while Alani turned her back on him, "I'm afraid this will have to be taken care of by someone else." Alani didn't have time to phase as Serotonin hit her in the back of the head with the paperweight, knocking her out instantly. Alani's limp body hit the floor as Serotonin gave it a satisfying smirk. He knew there was more to this project than just the files and, as he took the keycard from Alani, Serotonin knew he would find it.

Serotonin exited the office room and managed to break into one of the other rooms that shot off of the testing room. He knew exactly what this room was. It was the room where they analyzed Josh Foley's DNA in an effort to make their miracle cure and their biological weapon. Serotonin had seen references to it in the files he had skimmed through. He knew enough to know that the Initiative had developed what they hoped to be a working synthesized version of Elixir's healing ability. Serotonin looked at the wall that contained the biological samples, all of them in air-tight compartments that slid out of the wall.

"Interesting," said Serotonin as he studied a portion of the wall, "You have a vault within a vault, Gyrich. That can only mean you're trying to hide something that you definitely don't want anyone else to find." Serotonin swiped the card through the reader but it seemed that the lock in question had more security than he could get through. He saw what looked like a retinal scanner and palm-print reader. He realized that only Gyrich himself could open the thing and returned to his original goal. It wasn't long before he found exactly what he was looking for.

"They had to test this eventually," said Serotonin to himself as he pulled out the vial of liquid and stared at it, "I believe it's time to do my service to my country and to the cause of science." Serotonin drank the entire contents of the vial and then waited to see if it had any effects on him. At first, he couldn't feel anything happening inside him but slowly and surely he felt a tiny spark of something. The chemicals in his brain began churning and frothing, covering his thoughts in a delicious cloud of delirium that he had missed so dearly.

_'You know what you must do, my son,'_ said the voice inside Serotonin's head, _'Make them suffer for their sins. Make them scream in agony and confess their transgressions. Punish them for their disbelief!'_

"Oh I will, Father," assured Serotonin with a cruel, capricious smile as his illusionary powers reached outward towards anyone and everyone in the immediate vicinity, "I won't disappoint you this time."

XXXXX

Henry Peter Gyrich woke to the sound of gunshots outside of his door. It sounded as if a full-scale war was happening out in the hallway. Gyrich fumbled for his glasses and scrambled to make himself look decent before someone burst through his door.

"What the hell is going on out there!" shouted Gyrich over the roar of the fight.

"I can't be sure, sir," explained the soldier shakily, "He . . . he's done something to them."

"What the hell are you babbling about, soldier?" asked Gyrich as he quickly grabbed his pistol and checked to make sure it was loaded, "Who's done what?"

"The illusion-caster, sir," explained the soldier. The soldier couldn't explain anything else because something came through the door and slammed him into the wall.

"William Trent Kline," stated Prodigy as he entered the room, pointing at Gyrich while the rest of his Initiative teammates flanked him, "You're under arrest."

"I'm Gyrich!" snapped Gyrich as he pointed the gun at Prodigy, "All of you are being manipulated by the real Kline!"

"No, you're not Gyrich" said Serotonin as he stepped through the group of Initiative agents, "_I_ am!" None of the Initiative agents heard Serotonin's mad cackling as they quickly subdued Gyrich, falsely believing that they were capturing their enemy. It would only take a matter of minutes for Serotonin to take over all of Camp Hammond and he would use the Initiative's own agents to do it. All it took was the proper motivation and manipulation for Serotonin to amass an army of super-powered beings that would do whatever he wanted them to do.


	4. Invisible Children

Generation Gap (Part Four)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

"You think we could do this more conspicuously?" asked Surge as she looked at Hellion and gestured to the giant, green bubble of telekinetic energy they were floating in as it flew across the country.

"We could've all stood on a big sheet of metal and he could've lifted it like a magic carpet," suggested Rockslide, "Always did think Aladdin was the best Disney movie."

"No way, Little Mermaid's totally the best," replied Pixie.

"I'll cut this thing off when we get close enough," assured Hellion, ignoring the important debate raging on around him, "This isn't my first day on the job, Nori. Besides, I still have to strain myself to do fine control. Doing something like this is actually a relief."

"Beats havin' ta ride 'nother plane," spoke up Cannonball, "Or carry ya'll across tha country one at a time."

"One of us you couldn't lift," reminded Mercury as she looked at Rockslide.

"Like I'd let him," snorted Rockslide in response, "Where the hell is Camp Hammond anyways?"

"Connecticut," replied Dani, "This is your area of the country if I remember my files correctly, Santo."

"Yeah, don't remind me," said Rockslide as he studied the scenery below their feet, "You seen one forest full o' pine trees then you've seen 'em all. Folks never had much money but we took a vacation or two, mostly to the coast though. The beach always seemed nicer than a bunch of old buildings."

"Yuir grades in History reflected that attitude if I'm not mistaken," commented Wolfsbane.

"I thought you were too busy payin' special attention to someone else's work," retorted Rockslide, "Maybe I should feel lucky." A bolt of lightning crackled against Santo's stony hide as Wolfsbane growled at him.

"Last time I checked, we were on the same side," said Surge, "Save it for the Initiative, Santo. Fighting with each other isn't going to do anyone any good."

"Everyone be quiet," ordered Hellion as he brought the energy bubble down for a landing, "If I remember the map right then I think we're close enough to go in on foot."

"I can't even tell what's down there," said Mercury as she looked at the amorphous blob of darkness dotted by small lights that rushed to meet them as they landed. Camp Hammond stood on the rubble of the explosion Nitro had created that started the Civil War. It wasn't in the center of the town but it wasn't as remote as its managers would have liked. The New X-Men touched down a few feet away from its front gates.

"How do you want to do this?" asked Surge as she looked at Hellion, "I mean I'd rather this place stop existing but it's not my call."

"Smash and grab," ordered Hellion, "The louder, flashier ones create the diversion while the sneakier ones infiltrate the compound and pull Josh and Alani out."

"If this place is worth half o' its salt then those folks are gonna see that comin' a mile away," reminded Cannonball, "Ya better have a better plan than just makin' noise."

"Hush yuirselves fer five seconds," ordered Wolfsbane as she sniffed the air, shifting into her half-wolf form to catch scents, "I'm gettin' a whiff o' somethin' weird in that compound."

"What is it?" asked Pixie.

"Can't say," admitted Wolfsbane, "Something's not right in there though."

"Vic, take Sooraya, Cessily, Miss Sinclair, and Miss Moonstar in there," ordered Hellion as he looked to his reptilian teammate, "Remember that your objective is to get Josh and Alani out of there as fast as you can."

"I wanna go in too," stated Pixie.

"No chance," stated Hellion, "I need you out here with us so you can use your dust to keep everyone off balance."

"I can teleport them out," countered Pixie, "It'll only take a few seconds and that's way less time than it would take to go back through the whole compound."

"Lass has a point," agreed Wolfsbane, "I can trade off with her."

"We need you to track them down," reminded Hellion, "Sooraya, you stay out here while Megan goes in. Anybody else got any other gripes?"

"Can I have a pony?" asked Rockslide.

"Not unless you want to have the animal rights people on your ass," replied Hellion, "Everybody get ready and stay sharp."

XXXXX

"You have to admit that this is a pretty clever scheme," said Serotonin with a cruel grin as he slapped Gyrich across the face. Gyrich had stopped struggling long ago. The two people holding him were Prodigy and Annex, both of whom had augmented strength.

"I admit that you hit like a girl," retorted Gyrich, "God must suck if He uses sissies like you to carry out His wrath."

"You're very tough now but I'm sure I can change that," assured Serotonin, "What was it your father died from? Alzheimer's? That's a nasty way to go if you ask me. I bet I can do a lot worse damage than that disease. Maybe they should classify me as a walking disease. That could be fun."

"Someone's going to find out what you've done," assured Gyrich, "Your range isn't as impressive as you like to think it is and neither is your stamina. Sooner or later, you're going to have to end this charade and then you'll have a whole military base of pissed off superhumans ready to beat the crap out of you."

"I don't think I want to just be a disease," decided Serotonin, ignoring Gyrich's words, "I think I'd rather be classified as a walking act of God. That sounds so much better. Don't you agree?"

"If this is your idea of torture then it's working," assured Gyrich, "Really, I don't think I can take another minute of your annoying ranting without seriously contemplating putting a gun to my head."

"That wouldn't be a very fun end to this game," admitted Serotonin with a frown, "I do intend to put you out of your misery, Gyrich, make no mistake about that. There's a secret room inside the bio-vault though. I'm betting you know what's inside and you probably know how to open it. You're right about my range not extending as far as I like. I'd like to see about getting a little extra insurance."

"Mr. Gyrich!" called out Stature as she ran into the room, "There's something going on outside." An explosion punctuated the Young Avenger's sentence. Serotonin calmly turned away from the real Gyrich and looked out the window. He frowned as he saw arcs of electricity dance through the air along with green energy. It seemed the New X-Men were somehow on the scene but Serotonin wasn't greatly concerned. After all, squashing one's enemies was the reason for having an army at your disposal.

"Tell the others to brace themselves for combat," ordered Serotonin as he turned to Gyrich, "You and I are going to go down to that vault and see just what's in there."

XXXXX

"He always likes to jump the gun," muttered Anole as he and his team of mutants looked at the compound's outer wall, "Cess, do something about those security cameras."

"I've got it," assured Dani as she drew an arrow from the quiver on her back and aimed her bow at the camera. The arrow sang through the air and struck the camera dead-on, dismantling it. The former New Mutant wasted little time as she drew another arrow and repeated the process. Anole wasn't going to argue with good results. He bounded towards the wall and then tensed his legs, letting them uncoil like a spring and flying into the air. Anole barely managed to grab the top of the wall but he got enough grip to haul himself over it.

"Cameras are out," assured Dani as Mercury morphed herself into a ladder for her and Wolfsbane to use. Pixie fluttered into the air and flew over the wall while Anole jumped down.

"See if you can get a scent for one of them," said Anole as he looked to Wolfsbane.

"That smell is back," replied Wolfsbane as she shook her head to try and dislodge it from her nostrils, "I'm tryin' ta find 'em but it keeps gettin' in tha way." All of them squinted as the floodlights inside the compound turned on.

"Stay out of the light," ordered Dani as the group scurried towards the first building they could, taking cover behind its walls.

"I got Josh," assured Wolfsbane as she took the lead and began tracking the scent, "This way!" The strike team followed their feral teammate as Wolfsbane led them towards what looked like the nerve center of the entire compound.

"Anybody else feel like something in the dark is watching us?" asked Pixie nervously as they pressed themselves against the building's wall to avoid a sweep from the floodlights.

"You're just being skittish," assured Anole as he jumped up to crotch on a windowsill, "Cess, make me a hole here." Mercury complied and shifted her fingers into claws before extending her body upward so she could reach the window. Mercury put her clawed fingers against the glass and twisted them into a circle, neatly creating a hole in the glass. Anole snaked his tongue through the hole and unlocked the window.

"I'm not just being skittish," stated Pixie as they made their way into the building, "I just think that something's not right about this whole thing." The lights suddenly came on and Wolfsbane let out a growl while Dani pulled back her bow and prepared to fire.

"Dani?" asked Elixir in surprise, "What're you doing here?" Dani put her bow down and sighed. She was thankful that both Elixir and Alani were, from the look of it, unharmed.

"We're here to get you and Alani," assured Dani, "This place isn't safe anymore."

"Alani and I are fine right here," assured Elixir, "Tell the others out there to call it off. We're staying here."

"Gyrich's keeping you here against your will," stated Dani, "You don't know what he's capable of doing, Josh."

"Yuir wastin' yuir breath, Dani," growled Wolfsbane, "That's not Josh yuir talkin' ta."

"Of course it's him," replied Dani, "Rahne, I would think you of all people would know . . ."

"I _do_ know him," retorted Wolfsbane, "He doesnae smell like Josh! He doesnae smell like anything!" The open window behind them suddenly disappeared as well as Josh and Alani. The group of mutants found themselves in a completely empty room.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Mercury.

"Told you I had a bad feeling about all this," said Pixie as she tried to find an exit from the room, "If I'm right then someone let Trent loose again. If that's true then none of this is real."

"You say that now," said Serotonin's voice, a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, "I'll be interested to see what you say in the next five seconds. You're appearance here is a welcome surprise, Megan. I had hoped I would get to finish you and your pathetic friends." The walls and ceiling of the room suddenly began to close in on the New X-Men and their allies.

"It's not real," stated Pixie as she pressed her hands against the wall in an effort to get through the illusion, "None of this is real."

"That doesn't matter," replied Anole, "Our brains and our bodies are going to think it's real when those walls start crushing us."

"So how are we supposed to get out of a room that doesn't really exist?" asked Mercury.

XXXXX

Hellion figured it wouldn't take long for Camp Hammond to send out its big guns. Considering the camp's purpose, one had to assume its superhuman population could double as its greatest line of defense should it come under attack.

"Ya think we should take it easy on these folks?" asked Cannonball as the Initiative began to counterattack.

"Not too easy," decided Hellion as Prodigy shot upwards towards him. The golden-armored grappler tackled Hellion in mid-air and forced him into a downward spiral. Hellion tossed him off and then threw up a telekinetic shield to block the laser blasts from Annex.

"Man, there are some lame-ass powers floating around in the world," said Rockslide as Gorilla Girl morphed into her namesake and attempted to attack him. Rockslide swatted the giant ape aside with his customary nonchalance as he plowed through the Initiative's frontline including making a very large hole in the perimeter wall of the compound.

"Pull back a bit, Santo," ordered Surge as she began taking out the guard towers with bolts of lightning, "We're doing this to distract everyone. We're not actually trying to invade."

"Might as well hurt them while we're here," replied Rockslide as the Initiative agents began to swarm around him like flies in a collective effort to bring him down, "It's not as if they've got anything that we can't handle."

"Santo, move!" shouted Hellion from above, "It's that chick from the Young Avengers!"

"For the last time, who the hell are the Young Avengers?" asked Rockslide as he suddenly noticed that he was standing in a rather sizeable shadow, "Aw crap." Rockslide barely had time to look up before he saw Stature's giant foot come down on top of him, squashing him under it with a sickening crunch.

"Guess that answers mah question 'bout takin' it easy," said Cannonball as he shot towards Stature, slamming into her stomach at full force, "Sorry 'bout this, ma'am." The blow knocked the air out of the Young Avenger long enough for Rockslide to shove her foot off of him and send her tumbling backwards to the ground.

"Sooraya!" called out Surge as she began hitting the Initiative agents with lightning bolts, "We need to break their line!" Dust nodded and quickly turned herself into a sandstorm, whirling at full blast as she slammed into the Initiative's front line and sent them flying in all directions. This action bought the group of young mutants some breathing room as the Initiative struggled to regroup and mount another attack.

"What's takin' tha others so dang long?" asked Cannonball.

"Wish I knew," replied Surge, "Something tells me there's more going on here than we know about."

XXXXX

"Do you really think I'm going to help you get at whatever's in there?" asked Gyrich as Serotonin and his contingent of Initiative agents exited the elevator and stepped into the testing room.

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter," explained Serotonin as the group made their way towards it before stopping in front of the wall. Serotonin quickly drove his knee into Gyrich's stomach. The federal agent doubled over to catch his breath and Serotonin shoved his face in front of the retinal scanner. Constrictor let out his lethal coils and snaked them around Gyrich's wrist, lifting it and pressing his hand against the palm-print reader. The computer finished its scanning but the wall didn't open.

"Why doesn't it work?" asked Serotonin as he kicked Gyrich in the ribs, "Tell me!"

"It _does_ work you moron," retorted Gyrich with a grin, "I'm not the one who can open it."

"Who opens it?" asked Serotonin.

"A dead man," stated Gyrich, "You wanna go dig him up and ask him nicely to help you out?" Serotonin gritted his teeth in frustration and tried to figure out what to do next. He was going to have to figure out a way to bypass the security and get into the vault.

"Take him back into the testing room and kill him," ordered Serotonin as he looked to Constrictor, "That's an order." He made sure that everyone heard exactly what they needed to hear and Constrictor nodded, grabbing Gyrich with his coils and dragging him away.

XXXXX

"It's getting a little cramped in here," said Anole as the illusionary room continued to shrink, "Somebody needs to do something."

"It's not real," muttered Pixie to herself as she pressed her hand against the imaginary wall, "It's not real." She knew there was a door nearby and if she could convince herself that what they were experiencing wasn't real then she could reach the door and get out of the real room they were in. Megan pushed her hand against the fake wall and kept telling herself it wasn't real. None of the danger they were currently in was real. She mentally repeated these mantras until finally her hand passed through the fake wall and grasped the real doorknob.

"Just move through it," ordered Pixie as she made her way into the hall, "Convince yourself it isn't real and it can't actually hurt you." The others understood and they soon managed to escape from Serotonin's illusionary trap.

"I still have Josh's scent," assured Wolfsbane as she headed down the hall, "It's coming from below."

"This place must have an underground level or two," surmised Anole, "We need to find a way to get down there."

"Gyrich's office is this way," said Dani as she motioned down the hall, "I'm betting he has a way to get there." Anole jumped and slammed both of his feet into the door, kicking it in so the group could enter the office.

"We're going to have to tear this place apart to find it," said Mercury.

"That's a hollow wall," said Anole as he wrapped his knuckles against a wall and then began feeling along it for a switch, "I'm guessing it's an elevator shaft." Victor quickly clicked the button and watched the wall slide away to reveal an elevator.

"Everyone keep on your toes," ordered Dani as the five mutants entered the elevator and Anole hit the button that would take them down, "We don't know what's waiting for us at the bottom and these are tight quarters."

"Scent's getting stronger," said Wolfsbane, "Josh is down there but he isnae alone."

"You and Dani press against the sides," ordered Anole as he stood against the far wall and used his cloaking power, "Cess, you and Megan stay up in the ceiling." Mercury nodded and shot up to the ceiling, using her claws to dig into the surface and hang there while Pixie floated as close to the ceiling as she could. Everyone held their breath as the elevator door opened. Constrictor stuck his head into the open elevator and looked around. Dani suddenly grabbed him and shoved him further into the elevator. The assassin's face went straight into Anole's foot as the reptilian boy dropped him with a roundhouse kick.

"There's a few more," assured Wolfsbane as she exited the elevator and pounced on the first unfriendly person she saw. Pixie fluttered out into the testing room as Anole came out of hiding. Dani and Mercury brought up the rear, the former New Mutant aiming her bow to give her teammates cover fire while Mercury readied a round of metallic blades to discharge from her body the moment they were needed.

"Should I count myself so lucky that you decided to take matters into your own hands?" asked Gyrich from under Wolfsbane.

"You're not the one running this show?" asked Dani skeptically as she kept her bow on him while he moved out from under Wolfsbane and brushed himself off.

"Unfortunately, no," replied Gyrich bitterly, "Kline has got everyone in this base seeing and hearing the wrong things."

"So all the superhumans out there are following his orders?" asked Anole.

"Yeah except they think they're following mine," explained Gyrich.

"He's tha real one," assured Wolfsbane as she sniffed Gyrich, "Tellin' tha truth too."

"Where's Josh?" asked Dani as she finally lowered her bow.

"With Serotonin in the bio-vault," explained Gyrich, "There's a top-secret, high-security room inside the bio-vault that holds perhaps the greatest discovery we've ever made."

"What is it?" asked Pixie.

"We've done a lot of experiments on Joshua Foley's DNA," explained Gyrich, "We managed to synthesize a chemical compound that replicates his healing abilities. I assume that Kline guzzled it down and it eradicated the S.P.I.N. tech in his bloodstream."

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't put this through your head," said Dani as she pointed her bow at Gyrich's forehead, "Josh is like a son to me and you used him for a lab rat!"

"We also synthesized a chemical compound that replicates the other side of his abilities," explained Gyrich, "If Serotonin gets his hands on that virus then I'm the only one who can get to the antidote. Is that enough reason to keep me alive?"


	5. Fighting The Law

Generation Gap (Part Five)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Hellion dodged a punch from Prodigy and telekinetically grabbed the young hero by his cape, swinging the boy around and then tossing him unceremoniously into Sunstreak. Hellion swore under his breath as he heard his cell phone ring. He knew that it had to be Pixie unless someone with exceptionally bad timing managed to discover his number.

"What the hell is taking you guys so long?" asked Hellion as he answered the phone.

"We have a situation," explained Dani, "The objectives for the mission have changed. This isn't an extraction anymore."

"What is it then?" asked Hellion.

"A full-scale assault," replied Dani, "Head for the main building's underground levels as fast as you can. There's no time to explain." Dani hung up the phone but it was enough to suit Hellion's needs.

"Change of plans, boys and girls!" shouted out Hellion, "Clear a path to that main building and do it quick!" Cannonball took off like a rocket towards the main building, slamming into anything and everything that got in his way. He didn't know what was going on down below but knew it was serious if Dani and Rahne couldn't handle it on their own. He just hoped he and the others reached them in time.

XXXXX

"Alani, I need you to get through this wall," ordered Serotonin.

"I'll try, Mr. Gyrich," replied Alani as she pressed her hand against the wall. The wall was, predictably, made out of adamantium to preserve the level of security required. Alani grimaced in pain as she tried to move through it.

"It's hurting her," said Elixir.

"Try harder," ordered Serotonin. Alani's scream was lost in the adamantium wall as she finally passed through it and into the room beyond. She collapsed to the floor and teetered on the edge of unconsciousness from the pain she felt shooting throughout her entire body. The positive outcome of all this pain was that it snapped her out of Serotonin's illusionary grip.

"What did you do?" asked Alani as she tried to figure out what was going on, "What did you do to all of us?" She was too weak from phasing through the wall to get up. She looked up to see that the only thing in the room was a metal case on a pedestal. She didn't know what was in that case but she knew that whatever it was couldn't have been good if it needed all of this security.

XXXXX

"She's out of my reach," mumbled Serotonin as he hit his fist against the wall, "I need to fix this." He tried to concentrate and use his abilities on Alani again but something kept blocking him out. He realized that the room she was in had psionic shielding. Whatever was in that room, Serotonin knew it was extremely important if it had that much security around it.

"What happened?" asked Elixir as he turned to Serotonin.

"Nothing," assured Serotonin, trying to calm himself before he lost his control over the Initiative agents, "She's fine, Josh. You'll see, any minute she'll be out here with us again." His mind was racing furiously as to what to do. Given that the entire wall was composed of adamantium, it would take an entire day at the very least for the Initiative to force their way into the room. Serotonin knew he didn't have that long. An arrow flew through the air and would've struck him in the head if he hadn't ducked just in time. Serotonin turned in the direction of the arrow to find the squad of New X-Men that had infiltrated the building. He knew he now had even less time.

"Move away from Josh," ordered Dani as she pointed another arrow at Serotonin, "Do it slowly or I will kill you myself."

"I'd listen to the lady, Kline," advised Gyrich, "Trust me, if she doesn't want to pull the trigger then I most certainly will. I see that it was a mistake to think we could still find a use for you in our program. I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Neither will I," assured Serotonin as he motioned to Bengal, the last remaining member of the Shadow Initiative who was still standing, "Kill them." Bengal nodded and rushed towards the group.

"I got 'im," assured Wolfsbane as she tackled Bengal to the floor, "The rest o' ye take care o' tha leader." Bengal rolled with the attack, flipping backwards so that he was on top of Wolfsbane. Rahne slashed at his face but Bengal grabbed her wrist, breaking it in one, smooth movement. Wolfsbane howled in pain and kicked herself out from under Bengal. She grimaced as she snapped the bone back into place so it could heal properly. Unfortunately, the assassin wasn't going to give her the time needed to do so.

"You're not getting away," assured Dani as she let go of her bowstring and the arrow shot through the air towards Serotonin as he tried to run away in the ensuing confusion. Serotonin ducked and scrambled out of the bio-vault. He quickly hid behind one of the gurneys in the testing room and tried to formulate a plan of attack. He didn't have anything to let him communicate with his pawns due to the fact that he couldn't transmit his illusions through electronic devices. He could feel his control beginning to slip due to the stress.

"This is Elixir," said Elixir into his earpiece, "We need backup in the bio-vault." Mercury quickly grabbed him and took the device out of his ear. Elixir attempted to fight back using his powers but he quickly realized that Mercury wasn't organic.

"Do something so he doesn't hurt anyone," ordered Anole as he moved to help Wolfsbane with Bengal, "I'm pretty sure the rest of us shouldn't just stand around either." Anole attempted a flying kick but Bengal sensed the attack and grabbed Anole's foot, throwing Victor over his shoulder and onto the floor.

"Sorry about this, Foley," said Mercury as she suddenly morphed around Elixir, wrapping him in a bear hug. It only took mere seconds for Elixir to pass out from the lack of air as Mercury squeezed him like a boa constrictor would squeeze its prey.

"You could've been gentler," reminded Dani.

"No time for that," said Mercury as she headed into the testing room after Serotonin. The room suddenly began to spin before her eyes, whirling and whirling like a merry-go-round. Mercury knew she probably would've thrown up if she had possessed the stomach to do so. She staggered further into the room, wobbling crazily as she tried to regain her balance. Mercury managed to see Serotonin make a run for the elevator and her arm stretched to inhuman lengths as she tried to catch him. Unfortunately, something else managed to catch her and Mercury suddenly found herself in the electrified coils of the Constrictor.

"I thought we knocked that guy out," said Pixie as she and Dani entered the room.

"Not hard enough I guess," said Dani as she shot Constrictor in the leg with an arrow, causing the Initiative agent to fall to the floor and clutch his wounded appendage. This action allowed Mercury enough time to free herself from his coils.

"Anyone wanna tell me what the hell I'm doing?" asked Constrictor as Dani put her foot on his chest and pointed an arrow at his forehead.

"Guess the pain snapped you out of it," said Dani, "Shame. I wouldn't have minded cleaning your clock."

XXXXX

Anole kicked at Bengal again, going high and then low to try to keep Bengal off balance. Anole was glad that his speed was enhanced while Bengal's, from all appearances, seemed to be simply normal. To his credit, Bengal blocked both kicks but he didn't block the spinning roundhouse that Anole delivered. The reptilian mutant's foot connected with Bengal's jaw. Bengal attempted a punch but Anole used his superhuman reflexes to grab Bengal's wrist. Victor kicked him in the ribs twice and then twisted Bengal's arm, forcing the Initiative agent to kneel.

"I don't remember ye being this good," admitted Wolfsbane as she watched Anole work.

"I'm a chameleon," reminded Anole as he hit Bengal in the face with one last kick that knocked the Initiative agent out, "We do whatever we can to survive." Both he and Wolfsbane were about to leave the bio-vault when they heard something pound against the walls.

"That's what Kline was tryin' ta get into," said Wolfsbane.

"Alani," said Anole as he moved towards the wall, "You in there, Alani?" He didn't even know how thick the wall was but Alani responded by pounding once on it.

"Can ye phase through it, lass?" asked Wolfsbane.

"I don't think so," replied Alani, "It hurts too much when I do it."

"I doubt we're going to be able to find the person who can open this thing," said Anole as he looked at the locking mechanisms, "Times like this, I wish Sarah was still around. Megan, we need you over here!"

"There's something in here," explained Alani.

"Can ye bring it with ye?" asked Wolfsbane.

"I thought the objective was to let that thing stay where it was," said Anole.

"That thing's too dangerous fer anyone to have," said Wolfsbane as she looked back over to Elixir's unconscious body, "I got a plan." Anole followed her gaze and then suddenly realized what the Scottish mutant was proposing. He grinned and nodded his approval.

"Lani, we need you to grab that thing and bring it out with you," explained Anole, "Megan's coming in to get you."

"I'm going to do what?" asked Pixie as she flew over to Anole and Wolfsbane.

"I need you to teleport into that room, grab Alani and whatever's in there, and then teleport back out here," explained Anole, "Do you think that'll work?"

"It's going to be a stretch," admitted Pixie, "How important is it that we bring that thing with us?"

"Fate o' the world, lass," replied Wolfsbane.

"Lemme see what I can do then," said Pixie, "'Lani, I'll be in there in a sec." Pixie quickly disappeared and then reappeared inside the inner vault with Alani. She hated using her teleportation powers so often. Something happened inside her when she used them and she didn't think it was anything good judging by how she acquired the ability.

"They want us to grab that case," explained Pixie as she fluttered past Alani and landed next to the case, "You coming or not?"

"I'm sorry about the way things turned out between us," apologized Alani as she came over to Pixie.

"You're my best friend, 'Lani," reminded Pixie, "I kinda got the impression things were cool between us when you saved my life last time." The two girls smiled at one another as Pixie warmed up her teleportation powers again. Using them was exhausting but if the fate of the world hung in the balance then Pixie could stand a little exhaustion.

"You okay?" asked Anole as Pixie and Alani reappeared with the case.

"Just as long as I don't have to teleport again for a while," said Pixie as she leaned against Alani, worn out from having to teleport more than once in such a short amount of time.

"You stay with her," ordered Anole as he grabbed the case and headed into the testing room, "Cess, I need you over here."

"What's up?" asked Mercury as she eyed the case skeptically.

"Get this thing open," said Anole, "We need for Josh to work his magic on what's inside."

"But what's inside _is_ Josh, isn't it?" asked Mercury as she let her liquid metal hand ooze through the seams of the case. It only took her a few seconds to let her hand expand inside the case, causing a few screws to shoot out of it as it popped open.

"In a way, yeah," replied Anole, "If this thing is as powerful as Gyrich said it was, and I think it is, then nobody deserves to have it, especially not these guys." Anole took the rack of test tubes inside the case and moved over to revive Elixir.

"What's going on?" asked Elixir groggily as he tried to get his bearings.

"I need you to heal what's in these things," explained Anole as he held up the rack of test tubes.

"What's in them?" asked Elixir as he took the rack in his glowing hands.

"You," replied Anole, "Well, a manufactured compound that was based on a part of you."

"That's really creepy," admitted Elixir as he applied his healing touch to the lethal virus inside the tubes, "I mean on a scale of one to ten that's like a twelve."

"You done?" asked Anole as Elixir finished his work.

"Yeah, it's done," assured Elixir as he handed the empty vials to Anole, "There's nothing of it left."

"Good," said Anole, "That's another reason to add to the long list of reasons why you shouldn't stay here."

XXXXX

He could still fix this. The New X-Men may have thwarted Serotonin's scheme again but at least he was free and he had his powers back. All he had to do was escape and bide his time. He would have his revenge but it would be a time and place of his choosing.

"How nice of you to provide my exit while you concern yourself with petty squabbles," said Serotonin to himself as he realized no one was around to stop him from exiting the compound. He made a mad dash for the exit but he suddenly ran into something very hard and very unrelenting.

"You should really pay more attention to what's going on around you," said Rockslide as Serotonin collided with the stone giant's body, "Someone could get hurt next time." Rockslide smirked as he picked Serotonin's limp body off the ground and made sure he was unconscious.

"Is he injured badly?" asked Dust as the rest of the New X-Men came over to Rockslide.

"Hell if I know," replied Rockslide with a shrug as he casually and unceremoniously dropped Serotonin, "Kid's still breathin' so I guess he's cool."

"Ten to one he was behind all this," said Hellion, "Man, I thought the Initiative knew better than to keep this leech around but I guess it shouldn't surprise me."

"Friend o' yours I take it?" asked Cannonball.

"They sent him and some other goons after us in Seattle," explained Surge, "He's an illusionist and a pretty crazy one at that." The end of Surge's sentence was almost drowned out completely as something very large and very loud appeared overhead.

"The hell is that?" asked Rockslide over the roar as the SHIELD Helicarrier threw on its floodlights while a swarm of SHIELD agents descended and trained their guns on the New X-Men.

"Fight's over, kids," announced Iron Man as he landed, flanked by Carol Danvers and Wonder Man, "Everyone get those hands in the air and nobody make a move."

"What exactly do you plan on doing to stop us?" asked Hellion, his eyes developing a familiar green glow, "We took apart this entire base."

"We can do this right now if you want to, son," assured Iron Man, "I don't think you have the stamina for it but you're welcome to try."

"Oh I will," assured Hellion with a grin.

"Ain't wise, kid," said Cannonball as he held Hellion back before the New X-Man could strike, "We're dead on our feet as it is even though we won. Discretion an' valor an' all that stuff." Hellion hated to admit that Cannonball was right. Even though he and the others had won, none of them were in any kind of shape to go a round with the Avengers and SHIELD.

"You got us, Stark," admitted Hellion as he raised his hands, "We surrender."


	6. Giving Up The Ghost

Generation Gap (Epilogue)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This is where the journey ends, kids. All in all, I'm happy with the way this trilogy turned out. R/R if you're happy with it too.

"Those kids tell me you cut one of them open to make a virus that could kill everyone in the world," said Tony Stark as he looked across his desk at Henry Peter Gyrich, "Is that true?"

"Baron Werner Von Blitzschlag is the one who authorized and oversaw those experiments," explained Gyrich, "He locked the virus away in the bio-vault in case we ever needed it. Once I found out what he had done, I confiscated all of his research and fired him."

"Where is he now?" asked Stark.

"He died," replied Gyrich.

"You mean you murdered him," corrected Stark, "Maybe you didn't do it yourself but you ordered it."

"It wasn't as if he was a saint," reminded Gyrich, "He authorized the cloning of Michael Van Patrick after the kid was already dead and now he authorized this. I put Elixir through tests to measure and better understand his abilities but I never signed the papers to take DNA samples and create killer plagues."

"Be that as it may, you will still resign from your position," stated Stark, "You're fired, Gyrich. Too many things have gone wrong under your watch and it's time to cut losses."

"I understand, sir," said Gyrich, "After all I've seen, I think an early retirement will be nice."

"You'll be debriefed immediately," said Stark, "You're dismissed now, Gyrich. SHIELD and your country thank you for your service." Gyrich nodded and left Stark's office. Stark swiveled around in his chair and stared out of the Helicarrier's window.

"I believe you have our children in lockup," said a voice. Stark sighed as he turned around to see Cyclops and Emma Frost standing before him.

"I didn't know they were still your children," replied Stark, "They were in direct violation of the Superhuman Registration Act and they attacked us even though it was a good thing they showed up. I need a good reason to let them go and I need assurance that something like this won't happen again."

"This country's already been through one superhero civil war," reminded Cyclops, "We can make it two if you really want to."

"Point taken," admitted Stark, "That's enough for me to release them but what about the assurance?"

"You'll have to trust us to take care of our own," said Emma.

"I respect you and your people," stated Stark, "You're free to take those kids but the next time something like this happens I will come down on you like a ton of bricks and no amount of bargaining will stop me. Are we clear?"

"We're clear," assured Cyclops as he and Emma turned to leave.

XXXXX

"You know," said Mercury as she looked at her actual skin thanks to the power-dampening cuffs, "I think I could get used to this."

"The jail part or the human part?" asked Surge.

"The human part," replied Mercury, "It's been a year or so since I saw my own skin. I miss it."

"Speak for yourself," said Rockslide, "I'm not too cool with it."

"Gotta admit that you look nicer though," said Anole, "You're even kinda hot."

"Shut up, Vic," warned Rockslide as he reached towards Anole.

"No seriously," assured Anole as he evaded Rockslide's grasp, "I wouldn't kick you out of bed."

"Yeah, I bet you would like it with these things," said Rockslide as he motioned to the cuffs, "You're a kinky, little bastard, Vic."

"How would you know?" asked Anole with a grin.

"Shut it," warned Rockslide, "Seriously, there's gonna be enough of that in jail."

"We should probably get all the goodbyes out of the way now," decided Hellion as he heard people coming down the hall, "I got a feeling some of us are going to get deported while the rest of us get tossed in jail."

"I will miss America," admitted Dust, "I believe going back to Afghanistan will . . . 'suck'?"

"Language, Sooraya, language," chided Surge with a grin, "All of my bad influence must've finally rubbed off on you."

"You sorry I dragged you into all this?" asked Dani as she looked at Cannonball.

"Hell no," assured Cannonball, "Most fun I've had in a while, Dani." All of the young mutants looked at the door as it opened.

"Well I'll be damned," said Rockslide as Cyclops and Emma entered the room along with SHIELD agents who immediately began unlocking the New X-Men.

"We're leaving," stated Cyclops, "Don't any of you dare make a scene."

"Nice of you to get off your ass," said Hellion, "I never said we needed your help."

"Julian, I really think you need to shut up," advised Surge.

"I'd listen to her, Mr. Keller," suggested Emma, "Everyone march. The jet's waiting outside." No one, not even the trio of Xavier graduates, talked back.

XXXXX

"We've decided to reform the X-Men," stated Cyclops, "We have a new base in San Francisco all set up."

"When exactly did you plan on telling us?" asked Hellion, attempting to keep his temper and his mouth under control, "I mean you must've reached this decision at least a few days ago."

"We had a hard time finding you," explained Emma, "It seems that we were better off waiting for you to cause a scene."

"Hard time finding us?" asked Hellion, "Really, hard time finding us? I mean you've only got Logan, Laura, who else that could track us? I hear that Worthington guy has a ton of cash and resources. Mr. McCoy's pretty smart last I checked and, hey, Storm's the queen of her own country now and they seem pretty handy with technology over there. With all that at your disposal, you had a hard time finding us? Really?"

"I don't appreciate your tone, Julian," said Cyclops, "As I was saying, we're starting over again and all of you are welcome to come live with us." Hellion looked at the rest of his team. Their reactions to the news ranged from overjoyed enthusiasm to skeptical wariness to outright anger. He was about to open his mouth and decline the offer on behalf of the entire team but he thought back to the conversation that he had with Cannonball the previous day. It was time for him to make the same choice again but this time he wasn't going to speak for everyone. This time, each member of the team would have to decide on his or her own.

"I'm not gonna speak for anyone but myself," stated Hellion, "You took us in. You gave us a home and you taught us how to be something more than what we were. You gave us something to believe in, something to fight for and die for. You gave us all of that and then you threw us away like garbage. Maybe some of us can forgive you for that but I can't. Anybody who wants to can come with me. I'll be staying in New York." Hellion moved towards the jet's exit, leaning against the frame and watching to see who would join him.

"Like you really have to ask," said Rockslide as he lumbered over to join his best friend, "I hear San Francisco is lousy anyways."

"Someone will have to keep you two out of trouble," said Mercury as she and Dust joined the two boys. It didn't come as a surprise to anyone that the remaining Hellions would stick together.

"Nothing personal but I'll take my chances," said Surge as she joined her friends.

"Yeah, what she said," agreed Anole. This action left Pixie as the only undecided member of the team. Megan looked at Cyclops and Emma then turned and looked at Hellion and the others. Megan couldn't count the number of times she wanted everything to go back to the way it was before but whatever desires she may have had were eclipsed by the love she had for her friends. Pixie knew that whatever normalcy she might attain by going back to the proper X-Men wouldn't be worth anything if she didn't have her friends along with her for the ride.

"I'm sorry," said Pixie as she looked at Cyclops before she joined the rest of her friends, "I've wanted this for days now but it won't be worth anything without you guys."

"This is our stop," said Hellion as he opened the bay doors of the jet with his telekinesis, "Everybody out." The New X-Men departed the jet, Hellion telekinetically lowering them down to the street. They all took one last look at the jet before turning their backs and walking away.

"That how we're gonna end this?" asked Cannonball as he looked to Cyclops, "Yer just gonna let 'em walk away?"

"The choice was theirs to make," reminded Cyclops, "We've apparently done enough damage as it is. Do you have an idea in mind?"

"Yeah," admitted Cannonball, "Think I got one that'll work just fine if yer willin' ta cooperate."

XXXXX

"So where do we go from here?" asked Surge as she looked at Hellion.

"I don't know," admitted Hellion, "We don't have Xavier's name to hide behind anymore and we can't play superhero without a license. The most responsible thing to do is go back to living normal lives. Whatever we do though, we stick together."

"It feels wrong to just give up though," said Pixie, "You were right a month ago when you said people out there are scared, Julian. Maybe the world still needs us."

"This from the girl who wanted everything to go back to the way it was?" asked Hellion as he mussed her hair, "Maybe you're right, Meg, but there has to be a better system."

"I think we can help with that," said Danielle Moonstar as she stood before the New X-Men along with Rahne Sinclair and Sam Guthrie.

"We had a talk with Cyke," explained Cannonball, "Here's the way I see things. You kids wanna be X-Men but ya don't like the way the adults do business. I know a lot 'bout that, trust me."

"So what did you guys agree on?" asked Hellion warily.

"Tha X-Men are goin' west but they wouldn't mind keepin' some connections here on tha East Coast," explained Cannonball, "You kids stay here in New York and do what ya did before only without makin' a huge scene."

"So we're X-Men again?" asked Surge skeptically.

"In a way, yes," replied Dani, "You can act as an independent team but you're still under X-Men jurisdiction. The Initiative won't be able to hassle you but you also have to keep a lower profile."

"Hey, they started it," reminded Rockslide, "I think we were keepin' a low enough profile back in Seattle."

"Santo, you couldn't keep a low profile if you tried," said Mercury.

"What about adult supervision?" asked Hellion.

"Somebody will check in on you," assured Dani, "Mostly you'll police yourselves but if you royally screw up then you will have to answer to Cyclops and when that happens you really will have to make a choice between going to San Francisco or retiring. This is a trial run and they're letting you do this because I think Cyclops respects the hell out of you for sticking to your guns."

"In other words, we shouldn't screw this up," paraphrased Anole, "All this stuff cool with you, boss?"

"You know, I think it'll work out just fine," admitted Hellion, "You three wanna hang out with us for a little bit or would that violate your new duties as parole officers?"

"Well, this all began because I wanted a chance to see how Josh was doing," said Dani as she looked to Elixir, "I suppose it would be bad if I didn't at least spend some time with him and his friends."

"Actually, we had a talk about that," admitted Elixir as he looked to Alani, "We'd like to come back with you, Dani. You guys will always be our friends but, well, Alani and I don't feel cut out for this anymore."

"No foul," assured Hellion, "You two crazy kids go enjoy yourselves out west. Just, you know, watch for those Thunderbolt guys while you're living in Colorado. They're pretty crazy bastards."

"I'll try," replied Elixir as he put his arm around Alani's shoulders and the two of them walked away with Dani.

"Stay?" asked Pixie as she looked at Rahne.

"Aye, this time I'll stay fer a little longer, lass," assured Wolfsbane with a smile, "I think we have some things to talk about."

"I best be gettin' back home," said Cannonball with a nod to the teenage mutants, "Ya'll behave yerselves. Ya made the right choice, Julian, both times actually." With that, the Kentucky-born mutant shot skyward and flew west. The New X-Men watched him go before turning their attention to one another. The group began walking down the street but Hellion and Surge hung back from the others.

"You think we'll be able to keep these kids in line?" asked Hellion as he grinned at Surge.

"You sound like we're married," replied Surge as she glared at him, "That's not a good thing to do."

"Just humor me," said Hellion, "You really think we can make this work?"

"I think that today is the first day of the rest of our lives," replied Surge with a smile as she watched the rest of the New X-Men, "The only way we're going to know for sure is to get out there and try."

"Funny, I think that's the attitude that got us into this mess in the first place," replied Hellion as he returned Nori's smile with one of his own before the two of them moved to join the rest of their team. Things may not have been perfect and they probably would never be that way. Hellion wasn't as concerned about that. At the end of the day, all of them were alive and they had remained true to what they believed in. Now it was up to them to go out into the world and honor that commitment once again.


End file.
